2 Corinthians 9:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
How can we be a cheerful giver? In your estimation what makes a cheerful giver? Are you a cheerful giver? Are you as big of a cheerful giver as you are cheerful with your big screen television purchase? Electric bill? Are you excited? We are obviously excited about spending time with our new big tv purchase....how about your excitement for your offering you give.
The other man is every bit as wealthy as the first, but anything but generous with his material blessings. He's stingy especially when it comes to the salary of his employees. He rarely helps those less fortunate than himself. He gives in the offering, but not near as cheerful as the first man. It almost pains him to drop that check into the offering. This man has been blessed with material wealth, but lives a life of disregard for anyone's needs but his own.
The second man describes the next giant we're about to discuss. The giant called “disregard.”
Proverbs 11:25
New King James Version (NKJV)
25 The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
Proverbs 22:9
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.
When we spoke about the giant of discontent, we said there was nothing inherently wrong with working hard to create material wealth, that it is fine to have ambition. We warned against making the acquisition of material wealth the center of your life. Not allowing yourself to fall into the trap of loving or serving money or material goods.
1 Timothy 6:10
New King James Version (NKJV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
When you allow yourself to fall into those things, you have been defeated by the giant called discontent. As long as you are losing a battle with discontent, you can count on disregard to join in the fight too. When disregard goes to war with us, he more often than not enlists discontent as his ally.
The giant named disregard wants us to cling tightly to what we have earned--to what God has generously given us. He defeats us by getting inside our heads and telling us that we don't have enough for our own needs, that we just can't afford to give to others. He takes us down by convincing us that if we give to eternal causes, then we'll be shorted and won't be able to pay our own way in the here and now.
There is something inside all of us that makes it difficult, in some cases impossible, to part with our money for the good of others and even for God Himself. There is some part of our fallen nature that keeps us from enjoying the blessings we receive when we learn to give freely and joyfully.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
New King James Version (NKJV)
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
Even though one may have plenty as far as monetary things, we must not place our trust in that. One day it will be useless to us. We must use our money to do good for those around us and to further the purposes of God. When we do this we store up real and lasting treasures for ourselves.
GIVE TO THE LORD FIRST AND THE BEST
Numbers 18:12
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 “All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you.
Ezekiel 44:30
New King James Version (NKJV)
30 The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.
Rams, Lambs, Goats
Exodus and several locations in the front of Leviticus tells us about what and how we select our offering. Unblemished without spots.
Disregard for people
EXAMPLES
Luke 10:25-36
New King James Version (NKJV)
Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’[h] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”[i]
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed,[j] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
Acts 5:1-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
Ananias & Sapphira - Lying to the Holy Spirit
5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”
She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Ephesians 5:33
New King James Version (NKJV)
Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Luke 20:9-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers
9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ 14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”
And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
17 Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’?[a]
18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
Matthew 21:27, Mark 12:6
Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
In the presence of true generosity, the giant named disregard will be defeated on the spot. But how do we make use of the weapon of generosity? How do we take on an attitude, a heart condition if you will, of giving?
A mindset of generosity must begin with the realization that God has given us everything we have, our material riches, our power, our gifts, and talents--and He holds us accountable for how we use those things. It's the realization that God holds ultimate ownership over everything, and that includes all we have. Scripture says in
SELF RESPECT
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20,
"Do you not know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you are bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
Whether you admit it or not, without the blessing and generous hand of God, you and I have and are not anything. When God chooses to bless you, He expects you to use those blessings to do the things He wants done.
Does this mean we're to take vows of poverty? Does it mean we should give everything to the poor and needy and move into a cave and become a hermit? NO! It simply means that our first priority, whether or not we are wealthy is to use our resources in a way that reflects God's ultimate ownership of those things.
If we are going to conquer the giant named disregard, we must develop our "weapon" of generosity the way a good soldier develops his swordsmanship or marksmanship skills, with practice, practice, practice.
Conquering the giant called disregard means understanding that you cannot serve two masters--namely God and money. You will always be a servant to something, and if you do not serve God and regard what He has given you, you will become a servant to your money. When you place your earthly treasures at the center of your life, you will be defeated by the giants named discontent and disregard.
Abraham faced a challenge when he was asked to give up the greatest gift he had ever received--his promised child, Isaac. The Lord prompted Abraham to give up Isaac, on an altar. Abraham may not have understood why God wanted him to do such a thing, but he was nonetheless obedient. When Abraham was found faithful to God, when God knew that he would not hold back even his beloved son, Isaac was spared.
Three uses of our generosity weapon
Abraham realized what we must also realize if we are to defeat the giant name disregard. We are to serve God and God alone, and there is nothing we shouldn't be willing to surrender to Him.
Each of us must begin today, through our generosity with those less fortunate, through our giving to the work God wants done--to convert our present wealth into the currency that is going to last beyond our lifetimes. It's the surest way to leave a legacy of lasting success.
It will speak volumes to the next giant we battle and how serious you and I are when it comes to putting the needs of others high on our list of priorities--which is important, because the next giant is disregard's evil twin: division.coming next!
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